The Israel Air Force struck a military base in the el-Kiswah suburb of Damascus last night, according to media reports in Syria. The attack came as Israel fears reprisals for recent alleged attacks by it on Iranian targets in Syria.
The reported air attacks came several hours after US President Donald Trump announced that the US is withdrawing from the Iran nuclear agreement and re-imposing stiff economic sanctions on the country.
There have been conflicting reports coming out of Syria. Syrian humanitarian organizations reported that nine military personnel loyal to the pro-Assad revolutionary guard were killed in the air raid and missiles belonging to Iran or its Lebanese proxy Hezbollah were destroyed. This is not the first time that there have been reports of Israeli attacks on this base which serves pro-Shiite forces.
The IDF Spokesman declined to comment.
A spokesman for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad told "SANA the Syrian Arab News Agency" that the country's air defense systems had intercepted two missiles aimed at the base. Another pro-Assad source told "Reuters" that there were no casualties in the attack but other Syrian sources said two people had been killed. There were also widespread reports of massive explosions and social media had pictures of fire and smoke in the area.
Last night, the Israel Defense Forces ordered the authorities to open bomb shelters on the Golan Heights following irregular movement of Iranian forces in Syria. Israeli schools are operating as usual this morning in the region.
The IDF said it is ready and prepared for a range of scenarios and warned that any action against Israel would be met with a fierce response.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 9, 2018
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